ORDER DIRECTING
NOTICE, SETTING

INTERVENTION
DEADLINE, AND MAKING

AMERITEC A PARTY

Issue Date:May 1, 2013Effective
Date:May 1, 2013

Syllabus: This order provides notice of
this application to interested parties, establishes a deadline for intervention
and for requesting a hearing, and joins the other party to the interconnection
agreement, Ameritec Cellular Services (“Ameritec”), as a party to this proceeding.

On
May 1, 2013, CenturyTel of Northwest Arkansas, LLC, d/b/a CenturyLink (“CenturyLink”)
filed an application with the Commission for approval of a negotiated interconnection
agreement between Ameritec and GTE Midwest Incorporated and GTE Arkansas Incorporated,
under the provisions of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. CenturyLink acquired certain assets of GTE
Midwest Incorporated and GTE Arkansas Incorporated, including the
Interconnection agreement between Ameritec and GTE. .CenturyLink states that there
are no unresolved issues and that the agreement complies with
Section 252(e) of the Act in that it is consistent with public interest,
convenience and necessity, and not discriminatory to nonparty carriers.

Although
Ameritec is a party to the agreement, it did not join in the application.Because Ameritec is a necessary party to a
full and fair adjudication of this matter, the Commission will add Ameritec as
a party to this case.

The
Act provides that an interconnection or resale agreement must be approved
unless the state commission finds that the agreement discriminates against a
telecommunications carrier not a party to the agreement, or that implementation
of the agreement is not consistent with the public interest, convenience, and
necessity.[1]Section 252(e)(4) of the Act provides
that if the Commission has not approved an agree­ment within 90 days after
submission, the agreement shall be deemed approved.The Commission finds that proper persons shall
be allowed 15 days from the issuance of this order to file a motion for
hearing.The Commission also finds that
notice of this application shall be sent to all interexchange and local
exchange telecommunications companies.